What Could've Been, Should've Been
by romionefan4eva
Summary: Eleven years after the horrible breakup of Ron and Hermione, their children, Ellie Weasley and Eddie Westing befriend each other at Hogwarts. When they realize their parents were school sweethearts, can they bring together two souls the were meant to be?
1. Chapter 1

"Maybe we just need...a break." Hermione sighed.

"A b-break?" Ron stuttered, thinking it was just another row, they could get over it, but maybe not. "What does that mean?"

"It means some alone time." Hermione said slowly.

"I'm willing to work it out, Hermione, are you?" He said seriously. "I love you, isn't that enough?"

"I just don't know anymore." She said in a high-pitched voice.

"Ron Weasley!" Hannah Abbott happily when he entered the Leaky Cauldron. Hannah had just began dating Neville Longbottom. Her Uncle, Tom, was the owner of the Leaky Cauldron, and she was learning the ropes, ready to take over when he retired. "What can I get you?"

"Something strong." Ron said morosely.

"Bad day?" She asked.

"Hermione and I broke up...I think." He said.

"Well, this ought to cheer you up." She said, handing him a goblet.

"What's in it?" Ron questioned.

"Don't ask."

Ron downed it in about three minutes. "I'll have another one, when you're ready." He asked.

"One second," Hannah said, as a pretty girl had come behind the counter to talk to her.

"Ron, this is my cousin, Kathy." Hannah said. "I have to go do something, but she'll fetch you a drink."

Kathy was skinny, and had a great body with accenting curves. She had a cute nose, shining blonde hair that curled at the bottom, and sun-kissed skin. Needless to say, she was a knockout.

"So what brings a dashing boy like you at a place like this alone on a Saturday night?" She teased.

"My girlfriend broke up with me...I think." Ron said yet again.

"You think?"

"She says we're on a 'break'. What does that even mean?" He said angrily.

"It means she's seeing someone else. Or wants to." Kathy said.

"My first boyfriend said he wanted a break. The next morning he had another woman in his bed. My co-worker's boyfriend wanted a break. That weekend, I was the one in his bed! I told one of my exes I wanted a break, and started dating a Quidditch player the next day." She said matter-of-factly.

Ron groaned.

"Hey, hey, it's not that bad!" She soothed. "It happens to the best of us."

"But Hermione and I aren't like everyone else! We've been together for three years! We've liked each other for about ten! We're school sweethearts, for Merlin's sake!"

"Maybe your love was meant for Hogwarts." Kathy said.

**Three hours later...**

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Kathy said between kisses as they entered Ron's apartment.

"Doesn't EVERY bloke want to do this?" Ron responded in disbelief, leading her to the bedroom.

"Wait..." Kathy said skeptically. "How drunk are you?"

"Drunk enough that I know I want to do this, but not drunk enough that you should feel you're taking advantage." He said quickly.

"Works for me." She said, unbuttoning his shirt.

**...**

Ron had heard it was common courtesy to feed the girl in the morning after you had done...'it', so he made her some coffee. Just as he was about to join her on the couch and contemplate why he had a strange but beautiful girl on his couch that wasn't Hermione, he heard knocking on his door.

"Who could be here at this hour?" Kathy asked.

"Blimey, it's Hermione!" Ron said, his face getting hot and his throat tightening. "I think you should go."

"What?"

"You've gotta get out. Apperate!" He said, pushing her, and she did as she was told.

"One minute!" He called, trying to straighten out the flat. He closed the bedroom door, he needn't fix that, it'd be too good to be true. He attempted to flatten his hair, and looked in the mirror. Like George had taught him, you could always see it on a man's face when a guy had gotten lucky. He tried to make it look like he had been thinking about Hermione all night, which he had, once Kathy went to bed. He was a jerk, a fool, he was certain, and would spend the rest of his life making it up to Hermione if he could.

"Hi." He said, opening the door.

"Erm...hi." Hermione responded. She looked like she had stayed up most of the night, but was beautiful all the same.

"Oh...come in." Hermione sat down on the couch, and Ron said on the armchair, to give her space.

There was an awkward silence, where Ron began "Hermione, I-"

But she cut him off. "No, Ron, I'm sorry. I've been a fool, it's all my fault. I think this break is stupid, and I miss you already. That's got to mean something, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does. Because you and I were meant to be together, Hermione. I've known it since I was eleven. We can't throw everything away after a fight." Ron said seriously.

"Oh, Ron!" She said standing up to embrace him. "I don't know what I was thinking, we can be so thick sometimes, it's-"

"It's what?" Ron said, after a pause.

"What's that." She said, pointing to a hot pink bra.

"Ginny's?" He tried.

"Like your sister would leave her bra at your house!" She screamed, smelling the fresh perfume.

"I can't believe you!"

"We were on a break!"

"That doesn't mean we were broken up!"

"You could've fooled me!"

"Oh, okay, well let me be more clear this time: WE'RE DONE!" She said and stormed out.

**One week later...**

Ron was in a state of depression, so it seemed; he went to work, he came home and did absolutely nothing, it hurt too much. He missed her terribly He had tried reaching Hermione a hundred times, but she simply ignored him.

He heard a faint knock on his door. He opened it, and was surprised to see Hermione in front of him. She didn't look well.

"Ron, I..." She said, and couldn't help herself, kissed him. "I miss you."

"I've missed you too." Ron said in disbelief.

"You were stupid, really stupid, but we've all made mistakes, haven't we? And I think we shouldn't risk our love for that."

Ron was about to kiss her again, when there was another knock on their door.

"Kathy?"

"What's _she _doing here." Hermione said.

"I don't know, honestly." Ron said.

"Ron, I need to talk to you." She said quietly. "It's important."

"Anything you say in front of me you can say in front of Hermione." He said confidently, slipping an arm around her waist.

She decided to just spit it out. "**I'm pregnant."**

Hermione ran out the door, and Ron fainted before he could stop her.

_And that was why, eleven years later, when Hermione was watching Ron help his daughter on the Hogwarts Express, she felt a pang in her stomach, realizing it wasn't hers._


	2. Chapter 2

And in a moment, Ron Weasley's world had been turned upside down.

Hermione went straight to Grimmulaud's Place, and told the story of Kathy's pregnancy between sobs to Harry and Ginny. While Harry comforted Hermione, Ginny burst through the doors of Ron's apartment.

"I guess this is a bad time." Kathy said, noting Ginny's face, three shades redder than her hair.

"Yeah, a bit." Ron nodded, scared for the wrath of Ginny Weasley.

"I'll come back later to discuss, well, you know." Kathy said, and in a moment she had disappeared.

"Okay, lay it on me." Ron sighed, bracing himself.

"RONALD BILUIS WEASLEY! HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU! GOD DAMNIT, GOD DAMNIT, GOD DAMNIT!" Ginny screamed at the top of her lungs. She was in such a rage, she didn't even think of using her wand, and instead began to hit Ron with her bare hands. "OH, WHEN MUM GETS A LOAD OF THIS-"

"No! You can't tell Mum!" Ron said suddenly.

"And then what will happen? You're going to hide the fact that you have fathered an illegitimate child with someone other than your girlfriend? Some stupid, slutty, little teenager who's probably younger than I am? Good joke." Ginny scoffed.

"Just, let me do it, okay?" Ron pleaded. "I need time."

"Time? How much time?! You have nine months until you're officially a father! And how long do you think it'll be before people begin to talk? Hermione won't be speaking to you for years, and you think people aren't going to wonder why?" Ginny spat.

"Y-years?" Ron whispered.

"Well, what did you think?! Did you assume you'd kiss and make up tomorrow?" She sneered.

"Well, that's what we happened to be doing before Kathy came in and dropped the bomb-"

"A bomb that will alter your life forever. A bomb that will be a constant reminder that you cheated-"

"I didn't cheat, we were on a break!"

"A bomb that is a _souvenir _of that time you left your longtime girlfriend and love since age of eleven to hook up with some blonde bimbo-"

"Don't you dare call my future child a souvenir!" Ron roared. There was silence between Ron and Ginny for a moment, their eyes never leaving each other. Ginny's face was a mix of pity and disgust.

"It's really going to happen." Ginny whispered. "Whether you like it or not, you're going to be a father. And I don't know what's going to happen in the future, but you and Hermione's relationship will never be the same." She said, and Ron was still fixated on his younger sister with no clear emotions. "I'm going to tell Mum...someone's got to. You're going to hate me now, because you're not ready to face it, but you'll thank me later. If you're not there, maybe she can let a bit of her anger out before she deals with you."

Ron nodded curtly, and Ginny turned to the door to leave, but gave him one final glance. "Look, Ron, I'm mad at you. Actually, at this very minute, I _loathe _you. Hermione is my best friend, and I will be there for her; I will listen to her curse your name through her tears, and I will comfort her. Her anger is every bit justifiable. But at the same time, you are my brother. And although I highly disapprove of how it happened, and I'm still going to need time to get over my anger towards you sometime. I'm a bit excited about being an Aunt." And with that, Ginny gave a weak smile and exited the apartment.

Ron was silent for a moment, then realized this was the first moment alone he had had since the big news. Upon realizing this, he collapsed in his chair and sobbed.

Ron continued to cry and curse until a voice commanded loudly, "Stop that." About an hour later.

Ron looked up and was surprised to see his brother George staring down at him. He didn't look happy, but he didn't look angry either.

"G-George." Ron quivered, going to embrace his brother.

"I'm not hugging you until you straighten up and take this like a man." George said seriously, handing him a box of tissues he had transfigured. Ron dabbed his eyes and blew his nose. "Better?"

"It'll do." George nodded, and gave Ron an encouraging smile before joining him on the couch.

"Why are you here?" Ron asked.

"You know why I'm here." George said.

"You've come to take the mickey out of me, just like Ginny, have you? Come to tell me I'm an awful person, as if I don't feel guilty enough, as if I'm not going to be reminded of that by everyone-"

"Quite the opposite, actually." George said brightly. "I've come to tell you it's going to be fine."

"Fine?! How is it going to be fine?" Ron yelled standing up, and the tears began to swell in his eyes again as he paced across the room. "I lost my love, I hooked up with a stranger, I'm going to be a father, everyone I know is going to hate me, Hermione's probably devastated, and when she's done being sad she'll probably hate my guts-"

"Okay, fine! Maybe I was being a bit generous by saying it's going to be fine. But it's going to work itself out, okay?" George said calmly. "It's all going to be okay."

"But how do you know?!" Ron spat.

"I don't. But if you don't have a good attitude about it, then you don't have a chance." George said wisely.

Ron slowly took a seat next to George on the couch. "Why are you being so nice to me?" He whispered. "You should tell me I'm a useless, foul person just like the rest of them will when they find out."

"Because you're going to get enough of that as it is; you don't need me to tell you twice." George said. "Look, I've been in tons of situations like this; well, okay, I've never fathered an illegitimate child before, but you know what I mean. Just think of the number of things Fred and I got in trouble with at Hogwarts! We'd do something bad. First Snape would yell at us. He'd tell McGonagall. She'd yell at us. Then Percy would find out; he'd yell at us. Then he'd write to Mum and Dad. We'd received Howlers being yelled at. It's a never ending cycle! And most of the time, it didn't change anything! What's the use of five different people telling you that you did something wrong?" He explained, "Look, I'm not saying what you did was cool, because it wasn't, but I take pride in the fact that I will stand by you the whole time. I've been with plenty of women, Ron; it could have just as easily been me fathering a child because I wasn't careful. But sadly, you made ONE mistake and you're going to suffer horrible consequences, which I don't think is fair." George said, and put an arm around him, "I'm your brother; I'm on your side. You're going to need all the allies you can get; between Mum, Ginny, Harry, and Hermione, you'll be lucky if you're even alive to see the baby be born." George smiled, and Ron surprised himself by letting a laugh escape before tackling his older brother in a hug.

**Author's note: **_Yes, I haven't updated this in a WHILE, but I decided to give it another shot. Thank you to heronlove for encouraging me to continue this story!_


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